Vietnam Airlines signs deal for eight Boeing Dreamliners 

Vietnam Airlines on Saturday signed a deal to buy eight Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in a ceremony witnessed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.      

The national flag carrier will take delivery of the first aircraft in 2015, Vietnam Airlines president and chief executive Pham Ngoc Minh was quoted by Dow Jones Newswires as saying.

He said the airline was also in talks to buy a further eight of the aircraft.

"Today marks the continuation of a 15-year relationship between Boeing and Vietnam and represents the introduction of the next generation of flight," the US aircraft maker said in a statement on the signing.

"With this agreement, Vietnam Airlines shows its growing leadership in Southeast Asia by making the 787 Dreamliner the backbone of their twin aisle fleet."

Vietnam’s biggest automobile exhibition opens 

Vietnam Motorshow 2010, the country’s biggest automobile industry exhibition, opened in Hanoi on October 29, showing the latest car models. 
Visitors have opportunity to enjoy 80 latest models of members of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) at the exhibition, which is held on 15,000 square meters at the Vietnam Exhibition & Fair Centre at Giang Vo Street.

The event is being attended by 11 members of the VAMA, including Toyota Motor Vietnam, Mercedes-Benz Vietnam, Ford Vietnam, Honda Vietnam, GM-Daewoo, and Vinastar.

At the event, many latest models of automobiles, which are assembled in Vietnam or imported completed-built-unit vehicles, is shown such as Honda CR-Z hybrid, Ford Fiesta, Alfa Romeo Giulietta and Toyota Fortuner Sportivo II.

Mercedes-Benz Vietnam (MBV) unveils new top-of-the-line models, including the new R-Class car and especially the new C300 AMG, which is one of the biggest highlights.

The 6th annual Vietnam Motor Show, organized by VAMA in coordination with Asia Trade Fair and Business Promotion, is also being attended by more than 100 local and foreign suppliers of spare parts, supporting products, and providers of interior furnishings, sound systems, and banking and insurance services.

The event lasts until November 2.

NZ firm agrees aircraft deal with VN

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key yesterday witnessed the signing of a letter of intent between New Zealand company Pacific Aerospace and Viet Nam's Samcom (Survey and Arieal Mapping Corporation of the Ministry of National Defence) for the purchase of two propeller-driven P-750 XSTOL aircraft.

The purchase is expected to take place next month.

Key will also attend the fifth East Asia Summit conference in Ha Noi today.

The signing ceremony took place during a networking session with 11 aviation industry-related businesses and local companies.

The one-motor, open-cockpit aircraft with a maximun altitude of 4,000m, will be used for aerial survey and mapping work.

The planes were chosen for their low operating cost and high reliability, said SAMCOM general director Thai Van Cong .

Cong said his company would pay around US$4 million for the aircraft and further training his four pilots and another four technicians.

Cong said these aircraft, which are the first for the company, might be leased to VASCO (Viet Nam Air Service Company) for full-time use.

"Despite having manufactured well over 700 aircraft, which we have sold around the world, this is our first to sale to Viet Nam.

It is a very important step towards developing Southeast Asia as one of our key markets for the P-750 XSTOL," said Damian Camp, chief executive of Pacific Aerospace.

The deal represents just one of the ways New Zealand and Viet Nam have been working together in the aviation sector.

New Zealand pilot training, airport redevelopment and baggage handling systems are also being used here.

New Zealand is known worldwide for its advanced aviaton industry, including creting high-grde aluminium used on the wings of Airbus's new A380 and 3D graphics management systems used by American aerospace and defence companies.

Also yesterday the New Zealand PM attended an event to highlight the Rugby World Cup 2011 to take place in his country from September 9 to October 23, 2011.

Meanwhile, businesses wishing to leverage the trade, investment and networking opportunities that RWC can offer are encouraged to visit the New Zealand 2011 Business Club.

In 2010, Forbes ranked New Zealand as the third-best country to do business in, based on criteria such as trade and monetary freedom, property rights, innovation, technology and market performance.

Hanoi launches promotion month 
More than 1,100 special displays of products from 300 businesses, commercial centres, supermarkets and shops will be set up in various venues around the city for promotion month in Hanoi from November 1-30.

Speaking at the opening ceremony for the promotion on October 30, a representative of the capital city’s leaders said that this will be a good occasion for international and national consumers to enjoy many good promotional programmes and buy quality products at reasonable prices.

22 golden stands from 17 businesses will offer major discounts of 20-50 percent on November 13-14 and a golden exhibition of promotional goods will be held at the International Exhibition Centre on November 18-21, featuring more than 130 booths from more than 70 enterprises.

Businesses participating in the promotional month must discount the prices of at least 30 percent of their products of more than 15 percent.

VN urges ADB President to better infrastructure 
Vietnam, as a middle-income country, must have better infrastructure, education and vocational training and conduct more economic reforms to develop further and become a high-income country.

President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Haruhiko Kuroda told Vietnam News Agency reporter on October 29.

The country should also focus on administrative and state owned enterprise reforms to improve corporate governance and efficiency, he said..

In the Asian Development Outlook 2010 Update issued in September, ADB has projected Vietnam’s growth rate in 2010 and 2011 at 6.7 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

“Vietnam has done very well in responding to the global economic crisis with quick formulation of a substantial economic stimulus package,” said the bank’s President.

However, the President pointed out “number one” challenge that Vietnam is facing which is infrastructure shortage though highways have been built quite rapidly together with the development of railways, roads, airports and seaports.

In the next 5-10 years, Vietnam’s infrastructure needs to be significantly improved, he said.

He also suggested that the country learn experience from China, one of the fastest growing countries in Asia which has invested much into infrastructure to accelerate its economy.

As a major donor for developing countries in the region, ADB will continue supporting Vietnam not only by financing development projects but also by providing necessary policy and capacity building in accordance with ADB’s long-term strategic framework, Strategy 2020, he said.

The support will be fully aligned with Vietnam’s socio-economic development strategy 2011-2020 and socio-economic development plan 2011-2020, said the President.

PM Dung receives ADB President  
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung welcomed Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda on the sidelines of the 17th ASEAN Summit and related summits in Hanoi on October 30.

He expressed sincere thanks to the ADB which has continued to assist Vietnam’s process of economic development. He confirmed Vietnam wants to discuss closer and more effective cooperation with the ADB in such fields as infrastructure, poverty alleviation, healthcare, education and the environment.

PM Dung asked the ADB to provide more support for Vietnam to deal with climate change, implement finance and banking reforms, and renovate State enterprises, and be a bridge for mobilising other sources of capital for Vietnam.

PM Dung and ADB President Kuroda shared challenges Vietnam faces during its process of economic development, focusing on infrastructure and quality of human resources.

The two sides also talked about the urgent need to reform procedures and equitize State enterprises. PM Dung said Vietnam will implement many reforms in its economic institutions to integrate into the world.

Mr. Kuroda said the Bank will continue supplying capital for Vietnam’s important projects, especially for infrastructure development, power supply and improving education and training.

PM Dung applauded the fact that the ADB will hold its annual conference in Vietnam in 2011.

Dak Lak to export over 10,000 tonnes of honey  
The Dak Lak Honey Bee Joint Stock Company in the highland province of Dak Lak is striving to bring its total export turnover for 2010 to 10,000 tonnes of honey, valued at more than US$20 million, doubling last year’s figure.

By late October, the company had collected 11,000 tonnes of honey and exported over 8,000 tonnes of honey products to the US, Canada, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. Notably, the US imported 80 percent of the honey products from Dak Lak province.

To push honey exports, Dak Lak Honey Bee JSC has expanded investment into other areas in Dak Lak province, and other provinces in the Central Highland and Southwestern region, creating favourable conditions for farmers to develop apiaries.

This year, the Dak Lak province has reared 200,000 flocks of bees with an output of 11,500 tonnes of honey, twice the amount in 2009.

Gas prices increase four times since early October  
From early October until the present, the price of gas has been controlled to increase four times, each time rising VND5,000-15,000 per 12kg cannister.

At the beginning of this month, the price averaged VND275,000-285,000 per canister, but in mid-October, it rose to VND280,000-290,000 and on October 29, it was VND300,000-340,000 per cannister.

The fluctuation of prices was due to the VND/USD exchange rate and the increase in the price of imported gas.  

Gas prices are controlled on the free market based on the costs of supply companies.

Gold prices set new record of VND33.45 million/tael  
Domestic businesses on October 30 surprisingly listed gold prices at VND33.45 million/tael, an increase of VND400,000/tael compared to the previous transaction day.

At 8.25am, SJC gold stood at VND33.30-33.37 million/tael, VND350,000-370,000/tael more than October 29, it rose to VND33.35-33.40 million/tael at 11am.

Thang Long Dragon gold at Bao Tin Minh Chau Company was transacted at VND33.35-33.45 million/tael at 11.10am, setting a new historical record.

In New York, the world gold prices surged to US$1,360 per ounce at closing time on October 29.

Inflation likely in remaining months of 2010  
Economists and managers forecasted the risks of re-inflation in the remaining months of this year and now it has become a reality.

Many notable events took place in the last week of October including the hot issue of escalating prices at the National Assembly’s 9th session, problems with production and business operations of domestic enterprises and negative consequences of recent historic floods in the central region.

In addition, according to the General Statistics of Office (GSO), the Consumer Price Index (CPI) saw a strong rise of 1.05 percent in October compared to September. Experts say with this high level, the CPI in the past 10 months reached 7.58 percent (nearly the 8 percent set by the government for the entire year).

In theory, to curb the inflation rate at 8 percent this year, the CPI should be allowed to increase by 0.21 percent in the two remaining months. This figure means that combating inflation over 8 percent is very difficult and not feasible in the remaining months of 2010.

Economic experts attributed the increase to the foreign exchange rate, rising prices in the world markets and adjustment of prices for raw input materials such as iron, steel and gas, which will have an adverse impact on prices of goods in the remaining months of the year.

The increase in the foreign exchange rate for a series of essential imported goods will raise input costs for production and continue to drive the prices of goods up.

In October, there was also an increase in prices for 300 types of goods including milk (ranging from 8 to 10 percent), domestic confectionaries and cooking oil (2-3 percent), sugar (10 percent), imported confectionaries (5-7 percent), according to the Vietnam Supermarket Association.

After October, both managers and consumers will feel the heat of potential escalating prices for many goods in the next months. This is expected to become worse due to fluctuations in the domestic gold market and the rise of the US dollar in recent weeks.

High inflation in October and prediction of rising prices in the remaining months of this year indicate that monetary policies will continue to be tightened. Banking and economic experts say that banks will find it difficult to reduce interest rates while inflation rate continues to rise.

Relevant agencies, ministries and businesses also find it themselves difficult to curb inflation if interest rates decrease. If interest rates remain high, businesses will also have to face high input costs for production. As a result, the price of goods will increase, especially in the remaining months of this year while the consumer demands are predicted to be great. This poses a challenge to stabilize prices of goods in the local market.

In general, economic experts said that inflation cannot be curbed only by stabilizing prices in the market. It is necessary to solve thorny problems in the macro-economy such as budget overspending, high import surplus, the trade deficit, a reduction in foreign currency reserves, high interest rates on loans, and lack of synchronized policies.

Exports to ASEAN up over 16 percent  
Vietnam posted a year-on-year increase of 16.2 percent in export value to ASEAN to US$6.4 billion in the first nine months of the year, reported the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

ASEAN, which consumed over 11 percent of Vietnam’s total exports, emerged as the third-largest market of Vietnamese goods, following the US and the EU. The grouping is also the second largest exporter to Vietnam, following only China.

Dao Tran Nhan, former Director of the Asia-Pacific Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, says two-way trade between Vietnam and ASEAN surged sharply in recent years, with revenues doubling the 2005 figure to over US$29.7 billion in 2008.

The revenues dropped to around US$22.4 billion in 2009 due to the global economic crisis.

Vietnam’s major exports to other ASEAN member economies are rice and crude oil, which account for 37 percent of Vietnam’s gross revenues from the grouping.

Singapore is always Vietnam’s biggest trade partner among ASEAN members, followed by Thailand and Malaysia. Other members such as Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines are evaluated as having great potential.

Nhan said the trade balance was still lopsided in favour of ASEAN as Vietnam’s key exports remain unsteady, especially rice and crude, as their prices are the most volatile in the global market.

Garment, footwear and seafood, though being Vietnam’s strengths, account for a very small proportion of the country’s export value to the ASEAN markets.

Economists see a large space available in the more than 500 million-strong ASEAN market for Vietnamese goods to gain a firm foothold in – if exporters can tap tariff advantages.

US$12.6 million for business registration reform  
Switzerland, Norway and the UN will provide an additional US$12.6 million to support the second and third phases of the “Technical assistance to business registration reform in Vietnam” project.

Documents to this effect were signed in Hanoi on October 29 by the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment (MoPI), the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

Of the funding, SECO will contribute US$6.6 million, NORAD US$4.5 million and the balance of US$1.5 million is shouldered by UNIDO.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, MoPI’s Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Trung said business registration reform helps cut costs and time for completing business registration, tax, statistics and seal procedures.

The Swiss Ambassador to Vietnam, Jean-Hubert Lebet, said the project is expected to assist the private sector improve transparency and facilitate the full implementation of Enterprise Law and corporate governance.

The project was launched in November, 2008 and its first phase was completed in September, 2010. It aims to provide policy and technical advice towards the achievement of nationwide business registration reform. As a result, enterprises will be able to register for business, tax code, statistics and seals through a single point, using a consolidated form and obtain a unique enterprise ID.

National capacities will be developed to simplify the legal framework, processes and procedures and to set up and operate the computerized National Business Registry System (NBRS).

Amended ASEAN-China trade agreement signed  
Economic Ministers of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) member countries on October 29 signed a Protocol to amend the Rule of Operational Certification and Origin Check Procedures under the Goods Trade Agreement, on the occasion of the 17th ASEAN-China Summit in Hanoi.

The amendment was finalised at the session of the Working group of Rules of Origin under the ASEAN-China Trade Negotiating Committee that took place in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta in August, 2009.

As a result of negotiations over the past two years between Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and ASEAN member countries with China, the event will contribute to promoting ASEAN-China trade, raising the effectiveness of Goods Trade Agreement and offering business opportunities for member countries’ enterprises.

Several ASEAN member countries including Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Laos and China will implement the amended rule on January 1, 2011.

PV